From Sales to CEO in Six Years

Five years!?

I have not written an article on LinkedIn in five years. When I first started writing articles it was a different time in my life. I was working for a sales-based organization trying to get the next contract signed or the next customer to sign up for an account or book a loan before month's end. I was worn out and exhausted, but I continued forward. Every time I heard "no" I knew it increased the chances that the next person's response would be "yes".

Sales Sales Sales

Some called it a numbers game, some called it a sales cycle, others called us consultants. I took another approach. The results that came from the success of the sales weren't because of me. They weren't because I was personable or that I kept at it or even that I stayed organized and structured. That only helped with stress management. The sales were going to happen because the client needed my services at the time and I happen to be there when the person needed me. I separated myself from being the "sales rep" and remained true to myself and always just said, "I'm James". I stopped taking the "no's" personally. I separated myself from the results and just carried on. I wasn't the Business Consultant or Vice President of Banking or the Chief Operating Officer. Sure, those titles were what I carried in my tool belt of skills for the last six years, but I remained to just be James. I was fortunate to have built a solid network in my community and got recruited to new organizations with promotions along the way. They were hiring me, they weren't hiring my title.

Sales to CEO

I was honored to have been selected as President and CEO for my organization in 2021 just six short years after I took a sales role in which I basically tripped into the financial institution industry. I was (and I believe still am) the youngest CEO for a financial institution in the state of Connecticut. I didn't see myself as the "President and CEO" though. I never let title, money, bonus, or status or stature determine who I was or who I ought to be or what I ought to be doing. It's just me, James.

Things were different this time though. I was used to working at new organizations every few years and I was used to a rapid changing environment based on the previous leaders that I had worked for. I was not used to calling all the shots. Sure, I had some input and could influence my former leaders to some extent, but it was challenging to initially not have anyone to bounce ideas off of or even someone to report to.

Flash forward through 2021 which was full of of forensic audits, cleaning up an accounting mess, getting my team members the training the deserved but never got under former leadership, expanding my team's roles, and hiring some awesome new team members too. The pandemic was basically in the rear view mirror and as we're making our way smoothly through 2022, the economy tanks during the fourth quarter, FI's and individuals are panicked, some FI's were conserved by the federal regulators in early 2023. The news had new buzz words: liquidity, capitalization, investments, and cash reserves. These were not buzz words to FI leaders, these were major functions we live and breathe by every day. Thankfully, through some pre-planning and paying attention to the market I was able to combat that challenge and my organization survived.

So what now?

On May 3rd, 2023 I'll be celebrating my second year at Skyline Financial Federal Credit Union . Over the last two years, the challenges that my team and I have prevailed through have allowed for us to grow together. We learned, we laughed, we probably even cried. We never gave up. My team members didn't look at their "President and CEO" for answers, they looked for James. We strategized, we planned, we succeeded. I've met many new individuals over the last two years who have inspired me to continue doing the good that my organization is doing.

The new philosophy that I'm living by: I did not come this far, to come this far.

Thanks for reading!

Yours in exchange,

James A. Higgins, MBA, CUDE